HOLLYWOOD – We can all chill out. J.Lo is a corpse before we can get through half a bag of popcorn, says "Jersey Girl" writer-director Kevin Smith. "It's basically one stop short of being on the poster as the tag line – 'Don't worry, she's dead in 15.' " He snickers, fires up the first of many cigarettes, and curses the curse of Bennifer.

This story makes no sense. As such, it's the kind of story that can only happen in the topsy-turvy, Orwellian world of public broadcasting.

It's this: The host of a hugely successful morning radio show, a show where ratings have done nothing but climb for years, a man whose skill as an interviewer is unexcelled in the world of broadcasting, whose very voice helps millions of Americans get their day grounded, is being evicted from his seat in the studio.